ABOUT

Composer and Guest Professor for Transdigital Composition in the Contemporary Music Department at the HfMT Cologne (2021-2023).
Fellow at Villa Massimo programm in Casa Baldi (Italy).

In his music, Sergej Maingardt tackles the boundaries of aesthetic principles of contemporary music and auditory perception and focuses on socio-politically relevant topics. For example, he addresses the protests of the 21st century in his composition RUSH – commissioned by the German Music Council for the National Youth Orchestra – for large orchestra, amplified ensemble and electronics. Maingardt deals with the ratio ‟human-virtuality" in the composition Blindfolded for VR glasses, headphones and electronics, a work commissioned by the Donaueschinger Musiktage. In his music theatre production Transfleisch, Maingardt experiments with the limitations of acoustic and visual perception. His theatrical music sculpture BLUR anticipates ‟blurriness" as a phenomenon shaping recollections in many areas, influencing the way we look at the world and ultimately changing society as well. Maingardt's stylistic means often make use of pop cultural influences, which lends his music an immense directness. His pieces for ensembles and solo instruments are currently documented in a CD portrait in the Edition Zeitgenössische Musik series.


In collaboration with choreographers, he has created eleven full-length dance performances that have been co-produced both in the independent dance scene and by theatres such as the Münchner Kammerspiele, the Saarländisches Staatstheater and the Staatstheater Braunschweig. In addition to numerous performances in Germany and Europe, including at the Donaueschinger Musiktage, the IRCAM ManiFeste, the Darmstädter Ferienkurse, the Acht Brücken Festival, the Münchner Kammerspiele, in HELLERAU and the Gaudeamus Music Week, his pieces have also been performed internationally in very different contexts: from Canada, Panama and Mexico to Russia, Ukraine, Pakistan, Vietnam, Laos and South Africa.



Maingardt studied electronic composition at the HfMT Cologne [University of Music and Dance] with Prof. Beil, media cultural analysis at the University of Düsseldorf and media technology at the University Of Applied Sciences in Düsseldorf. He received numerous scholarships, including the scholarship of the German Academy Rome in Casa Baldi. Since the commencement of the winter semester 2021/2022, Maingardt has also been pursuing a guest professorship for Transdigital Composition in the field of contemporary music at the HfMT Cologne.

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